Feb. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Tiger Woods had three birdies, two
bogeys and a double-bogey in his opening round of the U.S. PGA
Tour’s Honda Classic, an event featuring seven of the top-10-ranked players in the world.

Woods, who lives about 30 minutes from the PGA National
course in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, is 1-over-par and six
shots back of leaders Rory Sabbatini and William McGirt, who
shot 65.

A 14-time major champion, Woods began play on the course’s
10th hole with eight straight pars before making his first
birdie of the day on the par-5 18th hole. He had missed several
birdie chances over his opening holes.

“I didn’t make much,” Woods said in televised remarks to
reporters after his round. “They were easy putts, too. I just
didn’t have the speed right. I need to do a better job of that,
no doubt.”

Woods dropped two shots with a double-bogey on the 464-yard, par-4 second hole, where he missed the fairway on the left
side with his tee shot and hit his third shot into a greenside
bunker. He birdied the par-5 third hole, sinking a 5-foot putt,
and finished play with two bogeys and a birdie over his final
five holes.

“I hit it good starting out, scrappy in the middle and
then hit it good at the end again,” he said. “It was one or
the other.”

Adam Scott, No. 2 behind Woods in the Official World Golf
Ranking, was one under through five holes, tied with No. 5-ranked Phil Mickelson. Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, No. 8,
was 2-under through his first five holes.

No. 7-ranked Zach Johnson, who played with Woods, finished
at 3-under-par 67 after making a quadruple-bogey eight on his
second hole.

No. 4-ranked Jason Day of Australia, who won last week’s
World Golf Championship match play event in Arizona, No. 6
Justin Rose and No. 10 Dustin Johnson are the only Top-10
players not in the field.